The Istanbul lover in all of us might think about it like this: we all know the sight of the stunning turquoise waters of the Bosphorus on a sunny day. We also all know of, but rarely acknowledge, the junk, the trash, or, on good days, the “buried treasure” when we dive beneath these surface-level shores. This buried treasure is what artist Zeynep Beler’s “Beachcomber” seeks to find.
Beautifully, honestly, and succinctly curated between the cozy walls of Krank Gallery, Beler’s first solo exhibition is an intimate exploration of the “inner psychodrama” of our minds, which are oftentimes neatly stored within the rectangular interface of our smartphones. Beler’s inspiration for the title of this exhibition comes from Jeanette Winterson’s The Powerbook:
“Found objects wash up on the shores of my computer…The buried treasure is really there, but caulked and outlandish.
I’m looking for something, it’s true.
I’m looking for the meaning inside the data.
That’s why I trawl my screen like a beachcomber – looking for you, looking for me, trying to see through the disguise.”
Though our phones do not gain weight over time, the data we add on a daily basis takes up mental and emotional space. Beler’s exhibition aims to materialize this virtual weight into a dynamic visual exhibition that challenges the idea of virtual reality existing apart from reality. It brings out the idea that we use our phones as a means of “escape”, challenging us to confront the realities of life that are succinctly tucked away in our phones.
In an interview with Yabangee, Beler discusses the intentions, themes, and ongoing realizations from her first solo exhibition.
Yabangee: What is the theme of your first solo exhibition?
Zeynep Beler: The idea in my head when I was planning the show was that someone, namely the specimen of a millenial woman, had her iPhone exploding and all the data splashed on the walls. There’s no apparent causality between the text messages, the e-book highlights, the memes and the friend selfies, but all together they form a narrative.
Yabangee: Your use of mixed and found materials presented in a small gallery space gives off the intimate feeling that all things come together without much organization or spatial planning, but they always seem to come together anyways, and oftentimes, beautifully. Is this the type of feeling you wanted to portray to the viewer with your idea of being lost or found in a data cloud?
Zeynep Beler: I try for it to reflect the serendipity I’m always amused to encounter in my phone and in my notebook. Stuff happens to you and it’s not always pretty, but that’s where real life is…your superego in the form of Instagram or whatever social media you’re addicted to (mine is Instagram) reflects very little of that.
This simple, intentional selection of Beler’s art pieces reflects the contrast between what is filtered or unfiltered, cropped or left askew, and how we as humans curate this mess for ourselves and share it with others.
Zeynep Beler’s “Beachcomber” can be viewed at Krank Art Gallery until March 17, 2018.
Photos courtesy of the organizer.
